


the sun never sets on us

by AppleJuiz



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-15 00:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11219256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleJuiz/pseuds/AppleJuiz
Summary: He belonged to the boys, their family. He worked hard to keep them together, to keep them this side of fed and clothed and safe. In return, he belonged to them. There to solve problems and break up arguments and manage the things that needed to be managed. But Crutchie had always been the thing that belonged to Jack, his support, his comfort, his piece of sunshine.





	the sun never sets on us

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who wrote another random thing when she should be writing other things. Anyway, I'm obsessed with this musical and Jack and Crutchie so here's a small little thing that I felt inspired to write. Minor Canon Divergence in that Jack and Katherine weren't really a thing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The air was a cool that bordered on biting. That didn't stop Jack from dragging himself up the fire escape to the roof. Crutchie was already there, sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him, staring out at the city at twilight.

  
Jack grinned, scrambled up and over the last few steps. "Ya gonna catch the flu sitting out in this cold," he called. Crutchie jumped a little, but smiled when he looked over.   


"Eh, 's not that cold," he said, shrugging. Jack sat down, threw his arm around Crutchie's shoulders.   


He let out a long sigh, practically feeling the stress of the day roll off his back. There's something serene about the colors of the sunset receding from the skyline, the oranges and the reds watered down to dark blue, black.   


"Stayin' out here tonight?" He asked. Crutchie shrugged.   


"It's warm enough, don't ya think?" He asked, glancing over at him for a quick second.  


Jack tilted his head to the side, like he was considering it, like the answer wasn't automatically yes. Crutchie got it in a way no one else did, the need to be out in the air, to see the sky, to tower above the streets, to feel free.   


"I suppose it is," Jack said, smiling softly. Crutchie rested his head against Jack's shoulder, and time stopped for a few moments, the colors and the city freezing in place just for them.   


"Ya know Liam McNally's gonna be ten next week?" Crutchie said, breaking the quiet. Jack imagined little Liam toddling across the street and up to him and Crutchie, clutching a penny in his grubby hand.   


"No kidding," Jack replied, whistling. "Kid's growin' up lightning fast."  


Crutchie nodded and frowned a little, staring down at the street. "Feels like we are too."  


"Not that old yet, pal," Jack argued. Crutchie shrugged, and Jack shook him by the shoulders a little. "Ya think too much."

 

It got a smile out of him, albeit small and bashful. Jack pressed a kiss to his temple, running his hand through Crutchie’s hair. Crutchie ducked his head, smile widening, face flushing. Jack laughed and pushed himself to his feet.

 

He took one last sweeping look across the street and the darkening sky. Crutchie started to push up as well, standing his crutch up and tugging himself to his feet. Jack reached a hand out to help him the rest of the way.

 

“How many blankets did ya bring up?” Jack asked, turning to glance around the roof. Crutchie held onto his hand, tugged him back around. Jack raised an eyebrow but then Crutchie was stepping forward, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. Jack felt his face go hot. Crutchie pulled away smiling.

 

They made a game out of it like this, trying to catch each other off guard, but other than light teasing they never really talked about it. One day it was the usual handsy roughhousing and then it was touches that lingered and hugs that lasted too long and then it just was, an easy back and forth of affection and smiles and they didn't need to say anything about it because no one was complaining so it just was.

 

Jack shoved at his arm and then Crutchie laughed a little, moving over to grab his pillow and blanket, both a little ratty and stained. Jack watched him spread it all out on the floor, grabbed his own from the edge of the fire escape ladder.

 

“Ya think it’s gonna get any colder?” Jack asked.

 

“Nah, should be all up from here,” Crutchie said, grunting as he lowered himself to the roof, laying back.

 

“Good thing, too,” Jack mused. The winter was always a killer, people always hustling by to get inside while they freeze their bums out on the street. Spring was the closest thing to perfect around here, not freezing, not sweating, just a momentary balance between.

 

Sleeping on the roof with a single blanket and not on opposite sides so that you could breath. Crutchie stretched his leg out and Jack laid down on top of him, resting his head on Crutchie’s shoulder, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Crutchie’s arms came up around him, around his waist, holding on lightly. The night would be peaceful and soft. Just him and Crutchie on top of the world.

 

Eventually they would come back down. Back to the streets and the grime of it all, but on nights like these, things like that could wait. They could make a small eternity like this, spread out on the roof together, as close as they could get, Jack draped across Crutchie like a blanket, the sound of the city remaining just below the edge of their isolated palace in the sky.

 

***

 

Jack had a hard time deciding which season was worse. Spring was his favorite. Fall was bearable, but summer and winter were two extremes, two different interpretations of hell: burning or freezing.

 

In the summer, he and Crutchie ended up on opposite sides of the roof. Not because they wanted to, but because anything else was near unbearable. During the day the sun beat down on them relentlessly, and the nights were barely a reprieve, still stifling and coating everything in sticky heat.

 

Even sitting near each other was overwhelming, but they’d make the sacrifice. Jack draped an arm across Crutchie’s shoulders, for a single point of contact even if it made the sweat rise between them.

 

“Only gonna get warmer from here,” Jack grumbled. Crutchie sighed, wiping at his forehead.

 

“Least it’s cooler up here though,” he offered.

 

“Barely,” Jack snapped. He hated the heat when it got like this, too hot to breathe, too hot to touch. He was a tactile person by nature, always reaching out, ruffling hair here, shoving a shoulder there. He’d worked hard enough building a family, gathering all the boys, keeping them together and off the streets, he didn’t like feeling separated from them by these pockets of heat.

 

And Crutchie. Close, but not close enough. Never close enough. Not until fall, probably. He felt on edge, a frayed wire, baking out in the heat, painfully alone despite being surrounded.

 

“Better than being inside,” Crutchie insisted, always optimistic, always looking on the brightside when the bitterness was eating at Jack, always reminding him to count his blessings.

 

He smiled, a cool breeze right through his chest. He jostled Crutchie’s shoulders, pulling a matching grin out of him.

 

“There’s a point,” he said. Crutchie nodded, pleased, rested his head against Jack’s shoulder. He was like a ray of sunshine, golden hair and golden smile and golden soul. A cool breeze on days like this, a burst of heat in the dead of winter. Everything and anything that mattered. Didn’t matter what hand he was dealt, he’d take it with a grin and turn it into something magnificent.

 

“It’ll cool down in a few hours too,” he offered. Jack hummed.

 

“We gotta sleep now though,” he muttered, pressing his nose into Crutchie’s curls.

 

“Maybe it’ll be cooler tomorrow,” he said, shoulders shifting just barely with a shrug. Sunshine. Sunshine and hope and bright smiles all wrapped up and bundled into this one person. Maybe it’ll be cooler tomorrow. Maybe the headline will be good. Maybe the flowers will bloom and the birds will sing and maybe everything will be better and brighter.

 

Jack wished he could live in Crutchie’s head, look out at the world and see what he saw, the hope and sunshine.

 

“Maybe,” Jack agreed softly. Probably not, but maybe. He held on for another second, ignoring the heat, the discomfort, the salty sweat in the air. And then he pulled away, letting Crutchie head over to his side of the roof before heading over to his own.

 

“‘Night,” He called, settling down, alone again, but cooler, less suffocated. He felt the bitterness resettle, fill the void where Crutchie’s pleasantly warm hope and sunshine had sat just a moment before.

 

He belonged to the boys, their family. He worked hard to keep them together, to keep them this side of fed and clothed and safe. In return, he belonged to them. There to solve problems and break up arguments and manage the things that needed to be managed. But Crutchie had always been the thing that belonged to Jack, his support, his comfort, his piece of sunshine.

 

He felt off-balance, so far away.

 

“Goodnight, Jack,” Crutchie said, soft voice carried on a breeze.

 

It would only get hotter from here. He’d only be moved further away, further separated from the only thing that kept him together.

 

***

 

After it all, the irony was, after fighting so hard to make some change, Jack was ready for things to just go back to normal. He wanted to wake up each morning and go to work, sell some papes, and head back home at the end of the day.

 

Adventure was fun, and it seemed like things would be getting better for kids all across the city, but ultimately, Jack just wanted something normal again, something like home.

 

Only… it seemed out of reach. He climbed up to the roof after making sure all the boys were settled for the night, and Crutchie was there, like he should be, like he should always be. And usually this would be where Crutchie would say something about the changing seasons, get melancholy about. They probably only had another few weeks before it got all cold out.

 

Only… He stood there, his stuff in a corner of the roof, even though they should be piled next to Jack’s. And Jack walked over, slowly, hesitating when he used to feel confident. His skin tingled and his stomach turned, but he reached out, bumping the back of his hand against Crutchie’s. And that would usually be where Crutchie reached back, grab his hand. But now he just flinched, barely, hand jolting, shoulders tensing before he forced them back down.

 

“Hey,” Jack said.

 

“Hey,” Crutchie replied, quiet.

 

“Uh,” Jack began, swallowing a little. Off-balance, alone, frayed and falling apart.

 

“I’m okay,” Crutchie said, still not meeting his eyes, staring out at the city into space.

 

“Oh,” Jack said.

 

“Ya keep looking at me like I’m gonna break,” he said. “I’m okay.”

 

Jack didn’t believe him. Something was off and it wasn’t just the flinching. He was quiet and distant and he looked at Jack like his heart was breaking. Jack took a deep breath.

 

“Alright, so you’re okay,” Jack said, focusing on a spot on Crutchie’s shoulder with all intent. “Is it me then?”

 

Crutchie flinched again, just a little, a small waver that coursed through him.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re okay. I’ll believe you,” Jack said. “Is it something ‘bout me then? I say something? Do something? I just… I wanna… You mad at me? ‘S that why you seem so… sad?”

 

Crutchie shook his head, throat bobbing with a hard swallow.   


“I, uh, I think I’ll sleep downstairs tonight,” Crutchie said, stepping away from the roof, towards the ladder.

 

Jack reached out again, catching hold of his hand, holding him in place. Crutchie ducked his head.

“C’mon,” Jack said. “Please. If you tell me what it is I did... ‘S it something I’m doing? I can change it. You know I’d change it, I just wanna know. Please.”

 

“‘S nothing,” Crutchie said, shaking his head. “I gotta…”

 

Jack stepped closer, placed his hand on Crutchie’s shoulder, cupped his cheek with the other. “Please,” he said, shaking his shoulder just a little, kissing his forehead, his temple. “C’mon.”

 

Crutchie frowned and it stung like a punch. “I didn’t know. How much you wanted ta leave. I know we talked about it, but… I didn’t know you were really gonna go.”

 

Jack frowned, felt his eyebrows scrunch together. “I… We talked about it,’” Jack echoed. “If you didn’t want to go, why didn’t you say something?”

 

“Why didn’t I say something?” Crutchie said, eyes wide.

 

“Sooner, I mean,” Jack said. “Before. I just thought that was the plan. Santa Fe, palominos. If you wanted to stay, you coulda said something earlier.”

 

“If I wanted to stay?” Crutchie echoed.

 

“You’re just repeating me now,” Jack sighed.

 

“If I wanted to stay?” Cruthcie said again. “Why would it matter if I wanted to stay?”  


Jack blinked a few times, felt the piece start to arrange themselves, piece together. “Because… you… you were gonna come with me. Or… well, you didn’t want to go, so we stayed. I didn’t know it was just imaginin’ for you, but that’s alright.”  


“We… we stayed?”

 

“We’re here, ain’t we?”

 

“Because… because you were gonna leave. But you didn’t,” Crutchie said.

 

“Because you didn’t wanna go. And I mean, I get it. Things are getting better, and all the boys are here.”  


“But… but… you were going to Santa Fe.”

 

“Not if you didn’t want to,” Jack said. “I wasn’t gonna leave without you.” Which was obvious. Which should have been obvious, but Crutchie… Crutchie looked like the ground had moved, the world had shifted. It was a splash of cold water, a sudden freezing realization. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t leaving without you.”

 

“But,” Crutchie said, eyes wide and staring. Jack shook his shoulder.

 

“I wasn’t.”

 

“But you were gonna leave. Before the meeting and the fliers and everything. You were getting ready to leave. You got the money from Medda.”

 

“Not without you,” Jack said, grip tightening on his shoulder. “Was never gonna leave without you.”

 

“But-” Jack stepped forward, crushing his mouth against Crutchie’s, pulling him in, closer, tighter.

 

“Oh,” Crutchie said when they parted, a little bit of light seeping back into his eyes. His face went deep red. “Oh.”

 

“Don’t go downstairs,” Jack said. “Sleep up here? It’s not too cold.”

 

“Okay,” Crutchie said. Jack hugged him close, buried a hand in his hair. “Okay.”

 

***

 

When they do go sleep downstairs, when the winter takes the city, coats it in frost and snow, when sleeping out in their penthouse is practically a death sentence, they have a bed reserved in the corner. The walls barely hold the warm in and the cold out, but Jack pressed his back to it. Crutchie curls up next to him, close as he can, more efficient that way, sharing warmth.

 

Jack’ll rub the cramps out of his legs, and Cruthcie’ll relax into their thin sheets. He’ll talk about his day and make it seem like something beautiful. He’ll smile, all that earnest hope and sunshine, and it’ll be like the sun is right there in the room. And Jack’ll grab onto it, bottle up that warmth, a better insulator than the walls ever will be.

 

Even if he didn’t though, they’d probably be okay. Crutchie would keep smiling, keeping making the spring come to them, one beam of light at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I love hearing any constructive criticism you might have so let me know what you though and if you have any prompts or want me to write something I have too much free time on my hand so send me something on my [tumblr](https://applejuiz.tumblr.com).
> 
> Also if you like my writing, you can check out my [ book](https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/people-like-us/id1076432088?mt=11).


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